The diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) requires that individuals who have experienced a traumatic stressor respond with intense fear, helplessness or horror (Criterion A.2). Inherent in Criterion A.2 is the assumption that the individual's appraisal of intense fear, helplessness or horror at the time of the event is associated with the onset and maintenance of PTSD. In spite of the diagnostic importance of Criterion A.2, validated measures of these posttraumatic appraisals do not exist; thus, Criterion A.2 remains an understudied area in the diagnosis and treatment of PTSD. While theorists have long identified fear as critical to the onset and maintenance of PTSD, recent research suggests that other appraisals (e.g., betrayal, anger, shame) may also contribute to the prediction of PTSD and posttraumatic distress more generally. As researchers and clinicians have increasingly recognized that a spectrum of posttraumatic distress is associated with trauma exposure (e.g., PTSD, depression, dissociation), models explaining the range of posttraumatic outcomes are needed. One logical route to predicting diverse outcomes is to examine appraisals associated with the trauma. Therefore, the current project involves the development and validation of a self-report measure of trauma appraisals (e.g., fear, shame, betrayal). Preliminary predictions specifying the relationship between appraisals (e.g., fear, shame, betrayal) and a spectrum of posttraumatic symptoms (e.g., PTSD, depression, dissociation) will be presented. Tests of these predictions will occur in the final phase of the proposed project using the newly developed measure. Development and validation of the measure will occur across three phases of study: item generation (Phase I), item analysis, establishment of internal consistency and construct validity (Phase II), and establishment of criterion validity (Phase III). [unreadable] [unreadable]